In the wake of Paula Deen’s confession that she has used racial slurs and once planned a slavery-themed wedding—and her subsequent firing from the Food Network—TMZ, the leader in spontaneous airport interviews, ambushed Reverend Al Sharpton to get him to weigh in on the unfailingly weird story.

A suspiciously well-placed cameraman, waiting near the exit of an unnamed airport, asked the civil-rights activist on Monday whether Deen’s strange, pre-taped apology would be enough for the butter-dependent television cook to regain her dignity and brand. Sharpton’s response, surprisingly, was much more forgiving than most: “A lot of us have in the past said things we have regretted saying years ago,” Sharpton told him. Instead of basing judgment on Deen’s comments, some of which are decades old, Sharpton suggested that the public wait to see what the court concludes about her more recent actions. “I think she has a lawsuit now about activities now whether they were discriminatory and whether or not she’s engaged in things now,” he said. “It’s not about her past. And whether or not she’s regained [her dignity and her brand—I don’t know. They’re still in litigation.”

As if the visual of a serious, racism-related interview being conducted by a paparazzi cameraman in front of jet-lagged travelers and parking shuttles were not off-putting enough, the cameraman transitions into more prickly territory by remarking that Deen “makes great fried chicken” and wondering whether Sharpton might be sensitive to chicken-related remarks from his white friends these days. Rather than attempting an answer to the awkward, stereotype-centric question, the dramatically slimmed-down Sharpton reveals that he does not eat chicken anymore—and any dining invitations he would consider would need to be salad-related.